Let us pray. Heavenly Father, send us your Holy Spirit to open our ears to hear your preached Word. Use your Word to disrupt and disturb our lives. Help us to see the empty tomb and shake with fear and joy. In the name of our risen Lord Jesus. Amen.

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

I’ve never been in an earthquake, but I understand it’s quite an experience. Out of nowhere starts loud rumbles and cracking noises. The ground heaves and shakes. What you were doing doesn’t matter, life is disturbed and disrupted. The buildings around you start to fall to pieces, as the deafening noise intensifies. The earth trembles and rocks split open. The noise and disturbing vibrations end abruptly as they began.

I wonder if this experience of an earthquake can be used to describe these last few weeks living with the coronavirus COVID-19? Out of nowhere our lives were shaken.  The foundation of our society was rocked. Health systems and economies in some countries have begun to crumble and collapse. Some are worried it’s the end of the world, or at least the end of the world as we know it. This pandemic has rocked us to the core, and will likely change our daily life forever. We will live in the aftershocks for months, even years.

Just before Jesus died, he spoke with his disciples about the end of the world. He spoke about earthquakes. His disciples asked him about the end times. “Tell us,” they said. “When will [the end] happen? And what will be the sign of your coming? What will be the sign of the end?” (Matthew 24:3). And Jesus responds, “Nation will fight against nation. Kingdom will fight against kingdom. People will go hungry. [The KJV adds: There will be plagues]. There will be earthquakes in many places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. … There will be terrible suffering in those days. … Right after the terrible suffering of those days, ‘The sun will be darkened. The moon will not shine. The stars will fall from the sky. The heavenly bodies will be shaken.’ ” (Matthew 24:7–8, 21, 29). Fighting. Famine. Earthquakes. The sun in darkness. Heavenly bodies shaken. So are we living in the end times? Is this the end of the world as we know it?

Yes, it is! Today, Easter day, marks the end of the world as we know it. Let me explain. In his account of Jesus’ death and resurrection, Matthew records a series of earthquakes. Firstly when Jesus died: ‘At that moment [when Jesus gave up his spirit] the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook. The rocks split.’ (Matthew 27:51). And another earthquake when the angel opened the tomb: ‘The Sabbath day was now over. It was dawn on the first day of the week. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a powerful earthquake. An angel of the Lord came down from heaven. The angel went to the tomb. He rolled back the stone and sat on it.’ (Matthew 28:1–2). Even the guards shake. ‘The guards were so afraid of [the angel] that they shook and became like dead men.’ (Matthew 28:4). The earth shook. The rocks split. There was a powerful earthquake. The guards are shaken. Sound familiar? Earthquakes are one of the signs of the coming end times that Jesus taught his disciples.

Another one of the signs was the sun in darkness. And remember what happened at Jesus’ death? ‘From noon until three o’clock, the whole land was covered with darkness.’ (Matthew 27:45).

Matthew’s gospel is a literary masterpiece, telling us that the end of the world as we know it has come. Not with the coronavirus, or anything in our times, but with Jesus’ death and resurrection. Jesus’ death and resurrection is the beginning of the end times. Of all the events in history — earthquakes, famines, plagues — it is the death and resurrection of Jesus the Nazarene that is earth shattering and world changing. All the events in history beforehand lead and point to Jesus’ death and resurrection, and all events afterward are signs of the end times. This world has two ages: before Jesus’ resurrection and after Jesus’ resurrection. And we are living in this second and final age — the end of the world.

Now if you believe the resurrection of Jesus, it will rock and disturb your life. The earth will shake beneath your feet. Like the guards, your entire life will be disrupted. Like the women who discover the empty tomb, you will experience fear and joy.

Firstly, the resurrection of Jesus will shake you with fear. You deserve his death. You have not acted rightly. You have sinned against God in thought, word, and deed. You have brought shame upon God.  You try and make up for it by helping others, being kind, but what a joke. The only thing that puts things right with God is for you to be buried in that tomb. So you ought to shake with fear, like the earth at Jesus death, like the guards on the first Easter dawn. For you deserve his death and should die.

Secondly, the resurrection of Jesus will shake you with joy. For God sent his own Son to die in your place. God stepped in and took your place. Your sin and guilt and shame was heaped on Jesus, and buried in the tomb. But, behold! Look! The tomb is empty! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Have you ever been really excited and your body sort of shakes with excitement and anticipation? Like this you too can shake with joy. Leap and dance in delight. This is the day the Lord had made. Rejoice and be glad. The tomb is empty! Jesus is alive!

The resurrection of Jesus shakes the whole world. It’s the end of the world as we know it. And his resurrection should shake and disturb your life. No longer do you need to fear, for you are free. Free from yourself. Free from death. Free from trying to please God with your deeds. Free to serve God and each other with your entire being. Free from worry as you live in the aftermath and tremors that rock this world from time to time.

We’re told that the women who found the tomb hurry away full of fear and joy. Then what do they do? They tell others what has happened! They tell people that their lives have been disturbed. Does your life reflect this earth shattering, world changing event? Are you disturbed, living like it’s the end of the world?

May you shake with fear and joy this Easter. May the resurrection be the end of the world as you know it. May you live like this is the end times, because it is. May you hurry to tell others the good news: Jesus is not here among the dead, he is risen just as he said. Do not be afraid. Go and tell the others. Amen.